Extreme Sports

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I want to know why they don't make T-shirts that say "I survived the _____ Consulate". Because really, what is climbing Mt. Everest in comparison to enduring a trip to the consulate?

After my many and varied experiences with the Brazilian consulate, I was actually brought to laughter when I stopped by the Chinese consulate earlier this week.

Theoretically, when you go to pick up a visa, you wait in line for a couple of minutes and then quickly walk out, mission accomplished. But I arrived to find two lines of at least 50 people... the "Please take a number" was out of numbers, and there was only one woman beind the counter, and she was helping the line that was for "Drop Off Only".

As I stood there for a couple of minutes, wondering whether it was likely that the line would dissolve itself before a week's worth of my lunch breaks passed by, I heard the typical stories... the guy who had stormed out a bit ago complaining about standing in line for 2.5 hours, the woman who was using the captive audience to brag about her travels.

And that is one of the great things about consulate visiting. It is one of the few extreme sports where the grandma outlasts the athlete.

And me? I let the grandma win that round. I'll go back another time, when maybe the computers are up and running.

Comments

slowlane said…
For those of you who are wondering, the visa isn't for my travels.
6:10 PM
caedmonstia said…
I WAS wondering! Good heavens, so hard to keep track of my family these days...
5:31 PM
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